The opinions of tourism experts and current and former hotel managers differed regarding the rates of demand for tourism in the Kingdom of Bahrain during the summer season and holidays. By more than 70%, with the influx of Gulf and foreign tourists from various countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to Bahrain, while another opinion came that the programs lack diversity and are not suitable for Gulf and Arab families in general.
various programs
General Manager of the Golden Tulip Abdul Rahim Al-Sayed said: “The summer programs launched by the Ministry of Tourism are good and characterized by diversity.” Al-Sayed added that a number of hotels have prepared many programs and offers to attract larger numbers of Gulf families who chose the Kingdom as their tourist destination during the summer season and holidays, expecting Occupancy should reach 60 to 65 percent this summer. And that the hotels that succeeded in setting up special programs will have a high occupancy rate, pointing out that the largest percentage of reservations is occupied by the Saudi brothers by virtue of the proximity of the distance, followed by Kuwaitis, Emiratis, Omanis, and then other Arab communities working in the eastern region near the King Fahd Causeway.
For his part, Issa Fakih, the tourism expert and CEO of Al Areen Resort, said: “The indicators until now reflect the continued momentum of reservations and occupancy in hotels,” noting that the Bahraini Ministry and Tourism Authority launched a number of entertainment programs, but they were not sufficient and appropriate to attract Bahraini and Gulf families. “.
In terms of hotel occupancy, Fakih explained that resorts will have the largest share of occupancy. Due to the need of visitors and residents to enjoy the sea and large swimming pools that are not available in indoor hotels.
Regarding occupancy rates, Fakih expected it to reach 53% this year, with a slight increase from last year. Occupancy in resorts will be 10 to 15% more than hotels in the city centre. Due to its distinguished tourism programs throughout the day and suitable for all family members.
Weak movement
While a member of the Board of Directors and Advisor to the Chairman of the Board for Business Development in the Gulf Hotels Group, Mohamed Bozizi, described the movement of reservations in hotels as very weak, explaining that business in the summer usually decreases every year, it is likely that hotel occupancy will not exceed 15% except for the weekend that arrives. Occupancy is often between 60% and 70%.
Regarding the hotels that tourists usually frequent, Bozizi said that tourists mostly resort to hotels and resorts that have beaches and swimming pools suitable for all ages.
In a related context, a tourism expert and marketing manager in one of the famous tourist hotels in Bahrain, who preferred not to be named, indicated that the four- and five-star hotels presented packages of offers to encourage visitors to visit Bahrain, pointing to the stability of the occupancy rate with the onset of the summer season, which is almost identical to Predictions for this period of the year. He expected that the focus this year would be on receiving families, which prompted the hotel to provide special accommodation offers for families coming from the main markets, especially the Saudi market, which is expected to contribute to raising the hotel occupancy rate by 10% this season.
Al-Bilad newspaper warns the various profitable electronic news platforms, of the need to be careful, as stipulated in the law on the protection of intellectual property rights, against the illegality of transmitting or quoting the content of this journalistic article, even if the source is indicated.
